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Finite Element Analysis of the Lens Profile During Accommodation
No full textThe magnitude of zonular forces required to change the shape of the human lens while focusing at near; i.e., accommodating, is still under investigation. During accommodation, ciliary muscle contraction induces a large increase in lens central optical power (COP). Here we used finite element (FE) analysis to evaluate the correlation between zonular forces and lens surface curvatures, central thickness, COP, overall lens shape and longitudinal spherical aberration (LSA). Fresh isolated lenses from donors aged 20, 24, 26, and 30 years were the basis for the analyses. Lens nucleus elastic moduli were specified as equal to, 2, 3, 10, 20 and 30 times greater than its cortex. When equatorial zonular (Ez) force was increased in 3.125 x 10-6 N steps while the anterior zonular (Az) and posterior zonular (Pz) forces were decreased in 3.125 x 10-6 N steps, COP was evaluated. Independent of the increase in lens nuclear modulus, less than 0.02 N of Ez force was required to increase COP 10 diopters while Az and Pz forces were decreased. The lens peripheral surfaces flattened, central surfaces steepened, central lens thickness increased, COP increased and LSA shifted in the negative direction consistent with published in vivo accommodation studies. The minimal Ez force required to obtain 10 diopters of COP increase supports that increasing Ez force with decreasing Az and Pz force is the basis for the change in lens shape during accommodation. Since the COP increase was independent of increasing elastic modulus of the nucleus, stiffening of the lens nucleus is not the etiology of the universal age-related decline in accommodative amplitude that results in presbyopia in the fifth decade of life. Increased Ez zonular tension during accommodation has implications for the development and potential treatments of myopia, glaucoma, presbyopia, cortical cataracts and accommodative intraocular lens design.</p
Advancing Spatial Cognition Analysis: Integrating Agent-Based Modelling with Space Syntax in the NetLogo Framework
No full textThis study aims to advance the application of Space Syntax by integrating it with Agent- Based System (ABS) features within the NetLogo environment. Building upon the foundational work done using UCL DepthMap, the research replicates Turner's experiments at the Tate Britain to validate the results within this new framework, establishing a baseline using the original DepthMap outputs from Turner ad Penn. The methodology progresses by constructing a parallel simulation framework in NetLogo, initially confirming functional equivalence through integration diagrams before introducing key ABS elements—agent communication and dynamic attractors.
Findings will show the proposed NETLogo framework is validated by the same correlation, 0.89, that Turner obtained along his research on Through Vision mathematical definition. Implemented Agent-based-system features, message passing and goals/attractors, will show a clear influence on agents’ behavior as a priori guessed by Turner in 2011 along his evolved automaton proposal.</p
Human Behavioural Traits and the Polycrisis: A Systematic Review
No full textPolycrisis has recently emerged as a term to capture the human predicament, and analyses of the drivers of this have identified causes such as economic growth. However, identification of the fundamental, underpinning causes is needed to effectively mitigate the polycrisis, and human behavioural traits are likely to comprise such fundamental drivers. Specifically, traits that have become maladaptive in the context of modernity are particularly important. We identify three particular maladaptations that are likely the most direct contributors to the polycrisis: warfare; resource overexploitation; and human cognitive biases. A systematic literature review using these maladaptations identified key studies from which behavioural traits underpinning the maladaptations were highlighted. These identified traits form the basis of suggested leverage points in the global system to reduce the likelihood of a polycrisis.</p
Is nature exposure in autistic adults associated with more positive body image?
No full textA growing body of evidence suggests that exposure to natural environments is associated with more positive body image, but such work has invariably centred the experiences of neurotypical adults and bodies. To rectify this oversight, we examined whether direct and indirect (i.e., mediational) pathways between nature exposure and an index of positive body image (i.e., body appreciation) are significant in autistic adults. A total of 303 autistic adults (age M = 36.69, range 18-75 years) from the United Kingdom completed an online survey that included measures of nature exposure, body appreciation, self-compassion, and nature connectedness, as well as sociodemographic variables. Structural equation modeling was used to test a hypothesised parallel mediation model in which self-compassion and connectedness to nature, respectively, mediated the association between nature exposure and body appreciation. Results showed that connectedness to nature, but not self-compassion, mediated the relationship between nature exposure and body appreciation. This finding was robust to sensitivity analyses and consistent across participants who identified as women and men. These results suggest that nature exposure is associated with more positive body image in autistic adults, which practitioners may find useful in designing population-specific nature-based interventions.</p
Skin, scalpel and the silicon chip: a systematic review on the accuracy, bias and data governance of artificial intelligence in dermatology, minimally invasive aesthetics, aesthetic, plastic and reconstructive surgery
No full textIntroduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly integrated into healthcare, particularly in fields like dermatology, minimally invasive aesthetics, aesthetic surgery, and plastic and reconstructive surgery. AI has the potential to improve diagnostic accuracy, personalised treatment, and patient outcomes. However, issues such as algorithmic bias, ethical concerns, and generalisability of models remain significant barriers to its full adoption in clinical practice.
Methods
A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. A broad search of databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus was performed to identify studies on AI applications in dermatology, aesthetic treatments, and surgery. Inclusion criteria focused on studies evaluating AI’s impact on clinical outcomes, bias mitigation strategies, and data management. Data extraction and quality assessment were carried out by two independent reviewers.
Results
Out of 103 included studies, AI showed varying accuracy across different fields. In dermatology, AI models, particularly neural networks, achieved an average accuracy of 90%, while in minimally invasive aesthetics and aesthetic surgery, accuracy ranged between 85% and 95%. Bayesian analysis demonstrated a posterior probability of 0.78 that AI outperforms traditional methods. However, challenges in bias, particularly regarding dataset diversity and ethical concerns, were frequently noted, limiting generalisability and applicability across diverse populations.
Conclusions
AI offers significant promise in enhancing clinical outcomes, particularly in dermatology and aesthetic surgery. Nonetheless, biases and ethical issues must be systematically addressed. Further research and standardisation are needed to ensure AI’s responsible integration into healthcare.</p
Economic policies and methods of determining the costs of services related to national telecommunications/ICTs: Output Report on ITU-D Question 4/1 for the study period 2018-2021 Revised edition 2025.
No full textThe transition to new generations of mobile- and fixed-broadband communications is a never ending process. Mass penetration of digital services in the digital-economy era exerts a huge
economic impact on telecommunication/ICT service providers and consumers.
Chapter IV of the ITU Constitution1 sets out the mandate of the ITU Telecommunication
Development Sector (ITU-D), which determines the specific functions of ITU-D, including:
a) promote, especially by means of partnership, the development, expansion and operation
of telecommunication networks and services, particularly in developing countries, taking
into account the activities of other relevant bodies, by reinforcing capabilities for human
resources development, planning, management, resource mobilization, and research and
development;
b) promote and coordinate programmes to accelerate the transfer of appropriate technologies
to the developing countries in the light of changes and developments in the networks of
the developed countries;
c) offer advice, carry out or sponsor studies, as necessary, on technical, economic, financial,
managerial, regulatory and policy issues, including studies of specific projects in the field
of telecommunications;
d) collaborate with the other Sectors, the General Secretariat and other concerned bodies
in developing a general plan for international and regional telecommunication networks
so as to facilitate the coordination of their development with a view to the provision of
telecommunication services;
e) in carrying out the above functions, give special attention to the requirements of the least
developed countries.
Accordingly, ITU-D is playing a leading role in helping Member States evaluate the technical and
economic issues involved in the transition to emerging telecommunication/ICT services for the
Member States, with particular attention to developing and least developed countries. In this
area, ITU-D has been collaborating closely with both the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R)
and the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), thus avoiding duplication of
work.
The Final Report on Question 4/1 for the previous ITU-D study period (2014-2017)2 contains
initial studies on new methods of charging for certain services and pricing methodologies, as
well as information on different models for sharing of telecommunication/ICT infrastructure.
The present Report on Question 4/1 (Economic policies and methods of determining the costs
of services related to national telecommunication/ICT networks) for the ITU-D study period
2018-2021 expands upon those studies, sharing the different country and business experiences
in the field of national telecommunication/ICT economic policies and regulations, taking into
account the studies being conducted in ITU‑R Study Group 1 (Spectrum management) and
1 https://www.itu.int/en/history/Pages/ConstitutionAndConvention.aspx 2 The Final Report on Question 4/1 for the ITU-D study period 2014-2017 can be found at: https://www.itu
.int/pub/D-STG-SG01.04.1-2017.
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ITU‑T Study Group 3 (Tariff and accounting principles and international telecommunication/
ICT economic and policy issues).
This report has been revised in 2025 with the addition of new information from
contributions received in the 2022-2025 ITU-D study period (See Annex 8).</p
Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma: An urgent complication of dual antiplatelet therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention for non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction
No full textA 68-year-old man with symptoms of back and left anterior chest pain was diagnosed with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and underwent coronary angiography, which showed 99% stenosis in the diagonal artery. After administering dual antiplatelet therapy, the lesion was successfully treated with a drug-eluting stent. On the day following the procedure, he developed left upper extremity paresthesia with persistent back pain, which was diagnosed as spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma by magnetic resonance imaging. Urgent surgical decompression was performed, leading to a complete resolution of the neurological symptoms. This case describes the difficulties in making a diagnosis and the necessity of performing immediate management.</p
Splitting smarter: Differential privacy for secure healthcare federated learning
No full textSplit Federated Learning (SplitFed) has emerged as a decentralized method of training ML models that enables multiple healthcare parties to collaboratively share models without sharing their raw data. This method, however, is vulnerable to label inference attacks, which can compromise patient privacy. Previous research efforts have attempted to address the question. However, these works do not conduct a detailed vulnerability analysis of SplitFed against label inference attacks. Additionally, some of these efforts propose differential privacy (DP) as a solution; the works focus on distributed learning paradigms where labels used for training the model are available to the clients, which is not a practical assumption. To address this, in this paper, we investigate the vulnerability of SplitFed models to label inference attacks in biomedical imaging. We propose a solution that incorporates DP into SplitFed to protect against label inference attacks. Additionally, we also provide a detailed vulnerability analysis of SplitFed against label inference attacks specific to healthcare applications. Finally, we propose a DP-based method for mitigating label inference attacks against Split-Fed models. Results indicate the efficacy of the SplitFed model under multiple conditions and found that the label inference accuracy changes from (No-DP) to (with DP). This indicates that integration of DP offers a robust mechanism for protecting patient privacy. Additionally, the usage of Cauchy noise in DP provides the best protection out of all noise categories, with a label inference accuracy of 0% while Exponential noise was the worst, resulting in a label inference accuracy of 68%.</p
Botensilimab (Fc-enhanced anti–CTLA-4 antibody) plus balstilimab (anti–PD-1 antibody) in patients with treatment-refractory ovarian cancer
No full textBackground
Patients with platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer (PROC) experience suboptimal outcomes, highlighting an immediate need for novel therapies. This phase 1b study investigated the safety and efficacy of botensilimab (BOT), a fragment crystallizable (Fc)-enhanced anti–cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) antibody with differentiated mechanisms of action from first-generation CTLA-4 inhibitors, plus balstilimab (BAL; anti–programmed cell death protein 1 antibody), in an expanded cohort of patients with treatment-refractory ovarian cancer.
Methods
BOT was administered intravenously at 1 mg/kg or 2 mg/kg every 6 weeks in combination with BAL intravenously at 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks (up to 2 years). The primary objectives were to assess safety and tolerability. Efficacy end points included objective response rate (ORR), duration of response (DOR), and progression-free survival (PFS) by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) V.1.1. Overall survival (OS) was an exploratory end point.
Results
Overall, 44 patients were evaluable for safety (with a median of 3 prior lines of therapy; median follow-up 9.6 months (range, 0.6—36.6)), and 35 for efficacy. The most common treatment-related adverse event was diarrhea/colitis (43%; 16% grade 3) with no treatment-related deaths. RECIST-confirmed ORR was 23% (8/35; 95% CI 10% to 40%; one complete (CR), seven partial responses (PRs)) and clinical benefit rate (CR, PR, or stable disease ≥24 weeks) was 31% (11/35; 95% CI 17% to 49%). Median DOR was 9.7 months (95% CI 2.8 to not reached (NR)), median PFS was 2.8 months (95% CI 1.4 to 5.5), median OS was 14.8 months (95% CI 12.1 to NR), and 12-month OS was 75% (95% CI 55% to 86%). Immune phenotypic analyses and biomarker data revealed significantly higher FcγRIIIA+CD11c+ cells and higher programmed death-ligand 1 expression in responding patients, a strong association between T-cell infiltrated tumors and clinical benefit, and differences in immune architecture across histologic subtypes.
Conclusion
The BOT/BAL combination demonstrated deep, durable responses and complete remissions in patients with treatment-refractory ovarian cancer where no standard treatments are currently available. RECIST under-represented clinical benefit with 11 patients achieving prolonged/clinically meaningful stable disease (or better) for ≥24 weeks. Toxicities were manageable and reversible. The encouraging clinical activity of BOT/BAL in heavily pretreated patients, as well as biomarker associations, warrants further investigation of this combination.</p
The use of tele-music interventions in supportive cancer care: a systematic review
No full textObjectives: This systematic review seeks to provide an in-depth overview of current research on tele-music interventions in supportive cancer care and identifies key areas where further research is warranted. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted across four electronic databases (Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and PubMed) without any data restrictions and according to the PRISMA guidelines. The primary outcome measure was the effect of tele-music interventions on psychosocial functioning. Results: Of the 2.043 articles initially identified, nine studies met the inclusion criteria and were selected for qualitative analysis. Among the music interventions, considerable variation was observed regarding delivery format and techniques employed. Most interventions were delivered remotely through Zoom, and in all but one study, a music therapist was involved. Outcome measures addressed various psychosocial and physical symptoms, most frequently anxiety, for which findings were mixed: three studies reported significant reductions, whereas two others observed no or only limited improvement. Conclusions: The results suggest that tele-music interventions are effective in reducing a range of cancer-related symptoms, including stress, anxiety, depression, and pain. However, the heterogeneity in study designs and methodological limitations hampered direct comparison and overall effectiveness assessment. Additionally, digital technologies hold considerable potential for the accessible and cost-effective delivery of music interventions.</p
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